Open Letter to Mayor Dan Plato: Leadership is urgently needed in Makhaza

Dear Mayor,

1. In a statement last week and an associated opinion piece in the Cape Times (27 May 2010) the SJC – a grassroots social movement campaigning non-violently for improved sanitation services in informal settlements – condemned the politicisation of the provision of toilets to residents in Makhaza. We urged all parties to refocus on the fundamental issue, specifically that countless people in Makhaza have been and continue to be deprived of their constitutional rights to health, safety and dignity.